Curriculum adviser Emilia Potenza answers questions about outcomes-based education (OBE) and Curriculum 2005
FROM February to May this year I was a member of the independent review committee appointed by Minister of Education Kader Asmal to review Curriculum 2005. Pages 8 and 9 in this edition of The Teacher give you an outline of our brief, the key findings of the review and the main recommendations we made. The full report is available on: http://education.pwv.gov.za under the policies and reports section. There is understandably a great deal of confusion about the status of the report. Which recommendations have been adopted by the minister and the heads of the provinces? How and when will Curriculum 2005 (C2005) be phased out and Curriculum 21 (C21) be phased in? Is it true that OBE has been dropped? Here is the latest update.
Q: What is the status of the recommendations made by the review committee on C2005?
A: Asmal met with the MECs for education on June 19 before responding to the report. The following decisions were taken:
– The principles of OBE remain. C2005 — and not OBE — was under review. The principles of OBE embody a rejection of the apartheid education principles of Christian National Education.
– All the recommendations regarding the structure and design of the curriculum have been accepted. Linda Chisholm, the chairperson of the review committee, will be appointed to the office of the director general. She will lead a task team which will develop the new national curriculum statement, and plan its implementation.
– Particular attention will be paid to the teaching of environmental education and history. Wilmot James, author of the Values, Education and Democracy report, will lead a task team on the development of history materials for schools.
– Teacher orientation and support are essential ingredients of curriculum change. This has been inadequate in the context of C2005. It has been agreed that the task team, led by Chisholm, will look at the content of training for C21, modes of delivery and related aspects.
– Regarding learning support materials, a joint inter-departmental committee will investigate a book selection and procurement system that balances co-ordination and decentralisation. A strategy will be developed so that if the targeted amount of R100 per learner is not available, resources should be directed towards the poorest schools.
– The National Centre for Curriculum Research and Development will have a new role. The ability of each province to implement C21 will be investigated. A report on both of these issues will be presented to the council of education ministers (CEM) in October.
Q: How and when will C2005 be phased out and C21 be phased in?
A: The CEM endorsed the gradual phasing out of C2005 and phasing in of C21. The following decisions have been made:
The provinces accept the importance of developing foundational skills in learners, and support the allocation of 70% of time to languages and mathematics with immediate effect in the Foundation Phase.
Implementation of C2005 in grade 4 and grade 8 continues in 2001. The CEM is against the dropping of technology and economics and management sciences in grades 4 and 8 in 2001 because of the importance of these subjects in a 21st-century economy. An assessment of provincial abilities to implement these Learning Areas should be undertaken by July 19, after which a final decision will be taken. There has been no clear indication yet about what will happen with the implementation of grade 5 and grade 9 in 2002.
Further details regarding the precise form in which C2005 should continue to be implemented in 2001 will be made available by the Department of Education.
Phasing in C21
The first step to phasing in C21 is the development of a national curriculum statement. This will take at least a year to do and should be available by June 2001. This statement will inform the content and methodology of training materials and learning support materials. The review committee has recommended that teaching should be guided by the national curriculum statement once it becomes available. The first year of formal implementation of C21 should be supported by quality training and textbooks. This is likely to be 2004.
Are you one of the many teachers at sea about understanding and implementing OBE and Curriculum 2005? Send in your questions to our curriculum adviser, Emilia Potenza, c/o The Teacher, PO Box 91667, Auckland Park, 2006 or email her at [email protected]
— The Teacher/Mail & Guardian, August 3, 2000.
M&G Supplements